A torque converter for an automobile includes a pump impeller connected to a crankshaft of an engine, a turbine runner connected to a main shaft of a transmission, and a stator supported on a casing via a one-way clutch, the turbine runner is driven by means of a flow of oil generated by the pump impeller, and the flow of oil that has passed through the turbine runner and been deflected is aligned by means of the stator, thus circulating oil along the pump impeller, the turbine runner, and the stator.
As shown in FIG. 7, an arrangement in which a stator blade 02 of a stator 01 is divided into a first stator blade 02a on the upstream side in the direction of flow of oil and a second stator blade 02b on the downstream side in the direction of flow of oil, and the first stator blade 02a and the second stator blade 02b are supported on a casing by respective one-way clutches so that they can idle independently from each other is known from Patent Document 1 below.
Due to the stator blade 02 being divided into the first stator blade 02a and the second stator blade 02b in this way, the first stator blade 02a is first made to idle in response to an increase in speed ratio, thus allowing the function of the second stator blade 02b in aligning the flow of oil to be exhibited, and accompanying a further increase in the speed ratio both the first stator blade 02a and the second stator blade 02b are made to idle, thus preventing oil flow separation.